


lake effect

by big_wet_cas_eyes



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Beaches, Episode Fix-It: s15e20 Carry On, Fluff, M/M, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-25
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-03-18 08:47:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28989468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/big_wet_cas_eyes/pseuds/big_wet_cas_eyes
Summary: Dean finally gets his beach vacation.Kind of.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Comments: 8
Kudos: 30





	lake effect

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Day 1 of [starrynightdeancas](https://starrynightdeancas.tumblr.com/post/640512697270747136/the-time-has-finally-arrived-here-to-announce-the)'s 2k follower celebration on tumblr
> 
> Day 1 Prompt: **Beach**
> 
> [tumblr link](https://big-wet-cas-eyes.tumblr.com/post/641327218887442432/beach-day-1-of-starrynightdeancas-s-2k)

It’s not exactly what Dean had in mind when he said he wanted to go to the beach. Kill God, then relax with his toes in the sand… This wasn't that. But he rarely gets the Impala out to one coast or the other, so really, he should’ve known that this was the beach that was waiting for him. 

It’s barely thirty degrees. Whenever he comes to Chicago, he’s struck by how big Lake Michigan really is. It hardly looks like a lake at all. It stretches so far in every direction that it looks like the ocean. Dean wouldn’t be surprised if he shoved his face in it and tasted salt. 

A vampire nest had brought them to town, and it proved enough of a pain in the ass that Eileen had joined up too after Dean, Sam, and Cas realized how many vamps were really hanging around. The four of them handled it easily enough with minimal injuries. Dean had already tended to the slice above Cas’s eyebrow. Sam was going to be nursing a bruised rib cage for a while. Eileen, the badass that she is, came out completely unscathed. And Dean was dealing with a large gash skimming the side of his body, but counted himself lucky since the piece of rebar that got him could have easily caused significantly more damage. 

Eileen had insisted they stick around town at least for the day, and one look at the sappy, doe-eyed way Sam was looking at her told Dean he wouldn’t be able to argue even if he wanted to. 

So Sam and Eileen ran off somewhere to explore (he thought he heard something about a museum with tiny rooms or something), and Dean and Cas ended up wandering off on their own. 

They were somewhere north of downtown in a quiet neighborhood with cute rows of houses lining the streets. They walked mostly in silence, hands brushing softly as they went. 

They haven’t talked about it yet, but Dean is pretty sure Cas knows how he feels. It’s not like he would ever be able to form the words to describe those feelings anyway. Cas is the one who’s good with words, who poured out his soul (or the angel equivalent) before being taken away from Dean for what he thought was forever. Dean couldn’t compete with those words. So instead, he let his actions speak.

Dean knows that saving Cas from the Empty hadn’t been something he did on his own. There’s no way he could’ve done with without Sam, Jack, and Eileen, plus a handful of other hunters who did what they could. But Dean was the one who didn’t give up. Dean was the one who found a back door into the Empty. Dean was the one who snuck in and crept through the endless darkness. Dean was the one who could sense Cas’s presence and tracked it until he found him. Dean was the one who recognized Cas outside of his vessel, a mess of incomprehensible shapes and swirls and colors and eyes. Dean was the one who didn't let go, even as Cas's grace got ripped out when the Empty tried to hold onto him. Dean was the one who got him out. 

Maybe Dean was bad with words, but he was good with showing how he felt. 

Eventually, they'd stumbled upon a deserted beach. The deserted part wasn’t surprising, given the fact that it’s January in Chicago. But he was surprised when Cas had grabbed his hand and dragged him through the sand until they were standing at the edge of the water. 

That’s where Dean finds himself now, looking out. Cas is still clasping his hand, but they aren't speaking. The water is a deep blue, only small ripples disturbing the surface, but it looks icy farther out. The day is gloomy, but the wind is surprisingly nonexistent, making the temperature more bearable. He turns slowly to let himself take in the rest of the scene. When he imagined his beach vacation he hadn’t pictured a rocky beach covered in snow. The edges of this beach are lined with large boulders and there’s a light dusting of snow that leads into a thicker layer toward the edges. 

It’s more beautiful than Dean could’ve imagined. No, there’s no way he’s pulling off his shoes to put his toes in the freezing cold sand. No, there’s no way he’d want a cold cocktail with a tiny umbrella in it. No, there's no way he's going to take off his shirt and jump in the water. No, it's not what he imagined.

But he’s content to stand here, taking in the calm and quiet that exists at the edge of the city on a frozen beach, holding hands with the love of his life. 


End file.
